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Monday, April 30, 2012

1 The weather took a turn to the very chilly side. I wished that I had socks on this day.
I hate when my feet are cold!
2 The hubby requested spicy Italian sausage and peppers. Had some tri colored
peppers handy for the very easy-to-make meal.
3 Started a new special project that will be shipped to Brooklyn!
4 A week isn't complete without a trip to Target. Saw this necklace in the jewelry department and thought about doing a simple DIY in the future [yes, adding it to my growing list].
5 Another cold and chilly day during the week forced me to wear some tights.
6 My weekend started early with a trip to Boston!! This is what you'd see when you get out of the tunnel on exit 22. I love Boston, but I definitely do not miss the traffic.
7 A simple lace top that I made paired with a cardigan and a necklace, also made by me.
8 My friends' little munchkin. Folks, she loves her accessories, shoes, and handbags already.
I told her parents that they're in trouble!
9 A visit to my friends' home means waking up before the alarm goes off to two boys playing with Pokemon, watching cartoons, and then playing Super Mario on Wii. Loved it!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Even though it's been a long time since I lived in Boston for college, I still call it my other home. I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to live there and experience life as a young adult. I try to go up as much as I can, although not as much in the city but in the outskirts where my friends live. I can pretty much drive there with my eyes closed (which I do not do and do not recommend). Who knows, I'm probably headed up there this weekend?! Do you have a home away from home?

Thursday, April 26, 2012

I saw this on Facebook probably a year ago. Karmin - the married couple who went to Berklee College of Music in Boston started off posting videos on YouTube and now you can hear them on the radio. I love a great story.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

This past weekend my husband and I traveled to Massachusetts for our friends' children's birthday party. When we arrived, we were greeted with a house transformed into a video game - Super Mario Brothers style!!! I'm not so sure if it was the kids' idea or the parents' idea haha but it was still awesome! With handmade question mark goodie bags filled with chocolate gold coins and mushroom tins filled with candy, stuffed Koopa Troopa turtle shell toys, hand crafted question mark pinata, homemade mushroom cupcakes and candy stars, helium balloons transformed into different characters in the game, a castle wall with a flag, and the pièce de résistance was having all three kids dressed up as Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool!!! HELLO?! What an awesome party it was. The children who attended enjoyed the theme, and the adults were so impressed with the different details reminiscent of the childhood (and current) game. Various songs were also downloaded as background so that everyone who attended the party can sing it in their sleep too. Well done Del and Ping! Bravo! My friends and I always thought that they were craftiest couple in the group!

Remember this?

A ledge in the house made into a brick block and a handmade question
block piñata made by my friend's 12 year old niece!!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Seriously. I just want to say how excited I am that my Titanic derby hat which I posted last week was featured in CRAFT! I love thinking up of things in my head and I get so ecstatic when everything comes together and what I've imagined really happens. I especially love when people appreciate what I create. This is why I love making things because there's no limit. This is why I blog because I get to share what I like to do. I am so thankful to Haley from The Zen of Making who is a super crafter herself [she has so many tutorials and craft wisdom for all levels of craftiness], for writing such a great article. She really did make my week.
Thanks a million Haley and CRAFT!

Monday, April 23, 2012

First off I want to say that I'm a little sad that Picnik is gone. I've used the photo editing program ever since I started this blog and I'm now on the lookout for an easy program without spending a lot of money. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, please let me know.

1 Never thought that I would buy a pair of leopard loafers, but I've been on a hunt for a while ever since I saw a pair in a magazine. Didn't want to spend a lot on them, so I waited to get a 20% coupon for Kohls and then snagged me a pair!

Friday, April 20, 2012

When I visit the Philippines, most of the time I stay with my family in Manila. On our last trip, since we stayed a little longer than usual my family and I had the chance to go to Boracay which is located in central Philippines, also known as Visayas. Boracay is known for the white sand beaches. Even though I was born in the Philippines there are still so many places that I haven't been to. This was definitely one of them!

Getting to Boracay isn't quick. After a plane ride from Manila to the main province in Aklan, it took another hour long drive to the port where the hotel had their own boats which then took us directly to the main dock of the hotel. Yes, folks it was a big "to do". It took a while to get to our destination, but it was well worth it. I have never experienced that before but it was a very exciting first part of our trip. Just looking at these pictures makes me want to go back.

Another boat taking some visitors to the hotel among the fisher men's boats.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Ever since I heard this on the show L.A. Ink I've loved this version of Dancing With Myself. Don't get me wrong, I do like the Billy Idol version, but this gives it a different twist. The video is also great, oui?

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

If you've seen my posts over the months, I've rediscovered some pieces that I've saved over the past few years that used to be my aunt's back in the day. I knew that one day I would be able to wear it. I even posted some of the things I've acquired on this blog post from February.
Recently I've been getting more and more vintage wares from my aunt that were on it's way to Goodwill and have found their way to lucky 'ol me! Some I am able to wear as is, and some have to be altered just a tiny bit, and some have to be completely refashioned. Some dresses were even made by my great aunt in the Philippines which makes it more special that I am able to wear it. When people ask me where I bought something that used to be hers, I would say that it's vintage, or even better I'd say that it's from my Auntie's Vintage Boutique.
I took some pictures and pretty much focused on the fabric because of how beautiful they are and some I've never seen such patterns before. I'm so lucky to have an auntie who is willing to give me all of her vintage clothes and be able to add it to my wardrobe collection [to my husband's dismay]. Don't even get started with all of the shoes she gave me!! Flats galore!! Will be posting them soon too!

These are the legs of pajama bottoms that someone gave my aunt, which she never wore. I think this fabric would be
a great skirt. Don't you think?

This is a sweater dress with a drawstring tie on the waist. Perfect for a fall day with some boots.

A shirt dress with some crazy flowery pattern on nave blue background.

A skirt with hints of purple, gold, red, olive, and black. Not sure if it's going to stay as a skirt or turned into a dress?

One of my great aunt's creations. Look at the fabric made from pineapple fibers.
I still have to get it cleaned at a trusty dry cleaners.

Another one of my great aunt's creations, this time with yellow lining. Still have to get it cleaned.
Where can I wear this?

A crocheted top that can be worn with a boat neck or v-neck. Works either way. Seen on this blog post.

A ruffly skirt with fabric made from India. I just love the pattern and colors.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Last Friday marked the 100th anniversary of the Titanic. It was also the day of a work fundraiser where I volunteered. It's usually a big to-do where there's a fake horse race, similar to the Kentucky Derby. Therefore, there were derby hats!! This was a very last minute creation. I worked on it the night before with some old manila folders, foam sheets, and lots of hot glue. It's not permanently attached on the wool hat, but there's a hole on the bottom of the boat where it fits snugly on top. This opening is also where the lights inside the boat can be turned on and off. Yes folks, working lights!! Ta da! Needless to say this hat won best in show!

Friday, April 13, 2012

If you've been reading my posts, you know that I love day trips. Just getting away for the day. Eating good food. Getting stuff that I would not normally get back home. You're probably thinking that all I do is eat and go to Asian stores, huh? Well, that's ok. We indulged a little bit at Korea Town in Queens, New York. It's not often that we go there so a little indulgence was lovely. Sorry for the photo heavy post. I love taking pictures of food!

We first went to a familiar Korean Barbecue restaurant. There were so many to pick from in this particular neighborhood. We had been there before a year or two ago and it was right across the street from the market. I remember lots of food. When the lady started to bring everything on to the table, I started to remember how good it was. It was tough not being able to eat right away, making sure that I had a picture of everything. I definitely looked like a tourist. There were more than ten banchans or side dishes besides the main meal, which was beef barbecue (galbi) and the appetizers dumplings (mandoo) and seafood pancake (haemul pajeon). Mostly everything was eaten with regular white rice and "purple rice" (heuk mee bap).

After our HUGE meal, we walked it off at the market across the street. It was everything and mostly Korean food and products. Something that we don't see often back home, especially a store that size. My mother in law was armed with her list of groceries, my husband and I just walked around in awe because it's been a while since we had been there. We asked each other, "do we need this?" or "should we get this?" a few times. Remember when I posted rice cakes from the other Asian market? Well, this place had trays and trays of various rice cakes. Some plain, flavored, mixed with pumpkin, red beans...just too many. My favorite aisle is the snack aisle, where they have honey twists. Oh man. Then, there's the prepared food section where there's refrigerator displays of all the different kinds of kimchi, prepared side dishes, ready made soups, and of course Korean sushi (kim bap). At the end of the leg of our grocery trip, we discovered a new addition in the store that we've never seen. A steamed bun shop right in the middle of the frozen food section!!! Whoa! Right next to the frozen mochi ice cream and the honeydew pops was a four walled glass structure, where inside there were about 5 people making steamed buns and two others working the front of the shop all working amazingly fast in a small space. It was amazing to see how they made these snacks. There were red bean, kimchi, pork, curry, and vegetable steamed bun to pick from.

After our shopping trip, we ended up in a little cafe close by. I remember having a dessert there that had shaved ice, rice cakes (mochi), and assorted fruits. When I asked the lady over the counter for one, she said it wasn't the season for it yet and that they usually make them during the summer months. Boo! So I sadly ordered a mocha bubble tea instead. Since I didn't get my special Korean dessert during this trip, I guess there will be a next time in a few months!